Container ship cranes

ABSTRACT

A container ship crane having a single main girder adapted to be carried by spaced apart trackways along each side of ship deck and substantially parallel to the centerline of the ship preferably by inverted substantially T-shaped leg means and having an extensible single girder positioned side by side with said main girder adapted to be extended over a cargo area of the ship and docks on either or both sides of the ship and being supported and guided along said main girder by support means adapted to extend across top portions and down side portions of said main girder, positioned adjacent end portions and intermediate end portions of said extensible girder and having drive means for moving said extensible girder along said main girder mounted on said support means intermediate end portions of said extensible girder and engaging said main girder, and having a hoist means adapted to be driven along the extensible girder preferably by said drive means simultaneously with said extensible girder.

PATENTEU mm 019?! 3Q 598 256 sum 1 0F 3 FIG: 2

l/V VE N TOR ED WARD J. KIN/(OFF Attorneys United States Patent [72]Inventor Edward J. Kinlropl Alliance. Ohio [21 Appl. No. 842,470 [22]Filed July 17, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 10, I971 [73] Assignee TheAlliance Machine Company [54] CONTAINER SHIP CRANES 6 Claims, 5 DrawingFigs.

[52] US. Cl 214/15, 212/15, 212/74 [51] InLCl B63b27/I2 [S0]FieHoISeardt 212/13- FOREIGN PATENTS 1,553,842 12/1968 France PrimaryExaminerGerald M. Forlenza Assistant ExaminerFrank E. Werner Auomey-Buell, Blenko & Ziesenheim line of the ship preferably by invertedsubstantially T-shaped leg means and having an extensible single girderpositioned side by side with said main girder adapted to be extendedover a cargo area of the ship and docks on either or both sides of theship and being supported and guided along said main girder by supportmeans adapted to extend across top portions and down side portions ofsaid main girder, positioned adjacent end portions and intermediate endportions of said extensible girder and having drive means for movingsaid extensible girder along said main girder mounted on said supportmeans intermediate end portions of said extensible girder and engagingsaid main girder, and having a hoist means adapted to be driven alongthe extensible girder preferably by said drive means simultaneously,with said extensible girder.

PATENTEU nus I 0 I971 sum 2 OF 3 mvsmon Edward J. Kinkopf Z at PATENTEUAUG 1 0 I971 SHEET 3 OF 3 I INVENTOR Edward J. Kinkopf CONTAINER SHIPCRANES This invention relates to a ship crane used to load and unloadcontainers to and from said ship. It is particularly useful in providinga relatively inexpensive and compact means of loading and unloadingcontainers into and out of a ship from either or both side thereof.

Container ship cranes are broadly old and well known. They haveheretofore existed in several forms. One form consisted of a gantryhaving rotatable arms capable of swinging the arms to overhang the shipdeck or the dock. Such cranes were however expensive to build andoperate, and were too balkly and restricted in movement to operate incertain dock areas and to load and unload certain ships or portionsthereof.

Another form, as shown in Myers et al., US. Pat. No. 3,1 30,840,consisted of a lifting trolley and a counterbalancing machinery trolleyadapted to be carried on rails by extensible girders over the ship deckand either side of the ship, which extensible girders was in turncarried by C-shaped supports above the ship deck on spaced apartparallel trackways positioned lengthwise of the ship adjacent each sideof the ship. Such crane device was relatively compact and could beoperated over almost any cargo area and deck area, but was commerciallylimited because it was expensive to build and maintain.

Still another form, as shown for example in Anderson, US. Pat. No.2,490,609, consisted of a hoist means adapted to be carried by rails orrolls by a single extensible girder over the ship deck and either sideof the ship, which extensible girder was in turn carried beneath a maingirder on rolls. The main girder was in turn supported by A-shapedsupports above the ship deck on spaced apart parallel trackwayspositioned lengthwise of the ship adjacent each side of the ship. Suchcrane device was relatively compact and could beoperated over almost anycargo area and deck area, but was commercially limited because it wasrelatively complex to build and maintain. For example, the drive meansfor the extensible girder had to have the power means mounted on themain girder on the ship deck and complex reevings and sheaves, becauseof the need for free movement of hoist means along the extensible girderfrom one extreme position where the extensible girder and hoist meansextend over one side of the ship to an opposite extreme position wherethe extensible girder and hoist means extend over the opposite of theship.

The present invention overcomes these difficulties and disadvantages,and provides a compact container ship crane which is relativelyinexpensive to build and maintain.

I provide a container ship crane movable on spaced apart trackwaysadjacent each edge of a ship deck and substantially parallel to thecenterline of the ship. A single main girder is extended transverse ofthe ship deck. Leg means support said main girder, preferably at endportions vertically above the ship deck and adapted to move on thetrackways on the ship deck. Drive means power said leg means along thetrackways. An extensible single girder is movably mounted on and side byside with said main girder for moving substantially transverse to thecenterline of the ship from one extreme position where the extensiblegirder extends over one side of the ship to an opposite extreme positionwhere the extensible girder extends over the opposite side of the ship.Hoist means is movably mounted on said extensible girder for moving fromone end of the extensible girder to the other end.

Said extensible girder is mounted on said main girder and guided alongsaid main girder by support means positioned adjacent each end portionof said extensible girder and intermediate said end portions of saidextensible girder each support means and adapted to extend across topportions and down side portions of said main girder.

I prefer that the support means intermediate said end portions of saidextensible girder be positioned substantially at the center of saidextensible girder and that it provide the main support for saidextensible girder.

First power means is provided for moving said extensible girder alongsaid main girder which is attached to said main girder possibly throughintermediate supports and engages said main girder. Preferably saidfirst drive means is mounted on the support means positionedintermediate the end portions of the extensible girder. Second drivemeans is provided for moving said hoist means along said extensiblegirder. Preferably said first and second drive means is a single drivemeans for moving said extensible girder along said main girder and formoving said hoist means.

Other details, objects, and advantages of my invention will becomeapparent as the following description of the presently preferredembodiments proceed.

In the accompanying drawings I illustrate presently preferredembodiments of my invention in which:

FIG. I is a side view of a ship showing two married con tainer shipcranes according to my invention over each hole of the ship;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the deck of FIG. 1 showing two married containership cranes according to my invention over each hole of the ship;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged end view of two married container ship cranesaccording to my invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial side view of a container ship craneaccording to my invention; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial top view of a container ship craneaccording to my invention.

Referring specifically to the drawings, there is illustrated a ship 10having a deck 11, a forward hold 12 and a rearward hold 13. Above theforward hold 12 and the rearward hold 13 there are provided two marriedcontainer ship cranes 14 according to my invention, wherein each marriedcontainer ship crane 14 is movable on spaced apart trackways 15 adjacenteach edge 16 of the deck 11 and substantially parallel to the centerline17 of the ship 10.

Each container ship crane 14 has a single main girder 18 extendingtransversely of the deck 11. Said main girder I8 is supported by legmeans 19, each of an inverted substantially T- shape, vertically abovethe deck 11 which is provided with wheels 20 for movement on thetrackways 15 on the deck 11. One of said wheels 20 is driven byconventional drive means 21 for moving the container ship crane 14 alongthe trackways 15.

An extensible single girder 22 is movably mounted on and side by sidewith said main girder 18 for movement substantially transverse to thecenterline of the ship 10 from one extreme position where saidextensible girder 22 extends over one side of the ship 10 to an oppositeextreme position where said extensible girder 22 extends over theopposite side of the ship 10. Said extensible girder 22 is carriedonsaid main girder 18 by a driving means 23 and support means 34 and 34'positioned adjacent and intermediate end portions of extensible girder22 respectively.

Said driving means 23 is rigidly fastened to said extensible girder 22substantially at the centerline thereof through support means 34, saidsupport means 34 being carried by wheel means 24 on rail 25, said rail25 being fixed along said main girder l8. Said support means 34 isguided along said main girder 18 by wheel means 26, 27 and 28 whichengage trackways 29, 30 and 31 respectively, said trackways being fixedalong said main girder l8. Said driving means 23 carries a motor 32 anda gear assembly 33 adapted to move along rack 58 on main girder l8, andthereby move said extensible girder 22 along said main girder l8. Saidmotor 32 is powered through a power track 59. Said motor 32 and gearassembly are positioned on said support means 34 so that the weight ofthe extensible girder 22 is counterbalanced over wheel 24.

Said support means 34 are rigidly fastened to each end portion ofextensible girder 22 and are provided with wheels 35, 36 and 36a thatare adapted to engage trackways 29, 30 and 31 respectively. By thisarrangement, one of the support means 34 is in contact with the maingirder I8 at all times to provide support for said extensible girder 22.

Hoist means 37 is movably mounted on said extensible girder 22 formovement substantially transverse to the centerline of the ship from oneend portion of said extensible girder 22 to the opposite end portions ofsaid extensible girder 22. Said hoist means 37 carries a cab 60, a drivemotor 38, gear assembly 39, and drums 40, for hoisting a lift beam 41 oncables 42. Said hoist means 37 is powered through power track 61. Saidhoist means 37 is carried by wheels 43, 44 and 45 that engage rail 46,said rail being fixed along said extensible girder 22. And said hoistmeans 37 is guided along said extensible means 22 by wheel 47 whichengages trackway 48.

Said hoist means is moved along the extensible girder 22 by means oftravel rope reeving 49. Travel rope reeving 49 consists of sheaves 50positioned at one end portion of said extensible girder 22 and sheaves51 positioned at opposite end portions of said extensible girder 22.Travel cable 52, is dead ended on hoist means 37 at 53, passes aroundsheaves 50, and is dead ended on said main girder 18 at its centerportion 54. Travel cable 55 is dead ended on hoist means 37 at 56,passes through sheaves 51, and is dead ended on said main girder 18 atcenter portions 57. By this arrangement the hoist means 37 is movedalong said extensible girder 22 in unison with the movement of saidextensible girder 22 along said main girder 18 from one extreme positionwhere said extensible girder 22 and the hoist means 37 extend over oneside of the ship 10 to an opposite extreme position where saidextensible girder 22 and the hoist means 37 extend over the oppositeside of the ship 10. No separate power means is needed to move hoistmeans 37 along said extensible girder 22. As shown in H6. 3, two shipcontainer cranes 14 can be married at 62 and operated in unison.

The ship container crane I4 is operated as follows. The driving means 23is energized to move the wheels and in turn the container ship crane 14to the desired position on the ship 10 to load or unload containers. Inthe case of loading from the dock, the motor 32 is energized to drivethe gear assembly 33 along rack 58 and thereby run out said extensiblegirder 22 on wheel 24 over rail 25, and said hoist means 37 on wheels43, 44 and 45 over rail 46, until said extensible girder 22 and saidhoist means 37 are positioned over the container to be loaded. The drivemotor 38 is then energized to drive drums 40 and thereby lower lift beam41 on cables 42. After the container is attached to the lift beam 41,the drive motor 33 is again energized to lift the lift beam 41 and thecontainer until it will clear the deck 11 and any obstacles thereon. Themotor 32 is then energized to move said extensible girder 22 along saidmain girder l8, and said hoist means 37 along said extensible girder 22,until the lift beam 41 and the container thereon is positioned over thedesired hatch in either the forward hold 12 or the rearward hold 13.Drive motor 38 is then energized to lower the lift beam 41 and thecontainer on cables 42 through the hatch into the hold H2 or 13 to thedesired location, where the container is detached from the lift beam 41.In the case of unloading from the ship 10, the operation is the reverseofthat just described.

While I have illustrated and described certain present preferredembodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limitmyself thereto that my invention may be otherwise variously practicedwithin the scope of the following claims.

lclaim:

l. A container ship crane movable on spaced apart trackways adjacenteach edge of a ship deck and substantially parallel to the centerline ofthe ship comprising: a single main girder extending transverse of theship deck; leg means movably mounted on the trackways of the ship deckfor supporting said main girder vertically above the ship deck; drivemeans for driving said leg means along the trackways; an extensiblesingle girder movably positioned substantially side by side with saidmain girder for movement substantially transverse to the centerline ofthe ship from one extreme position where the extensible girder extendsover one side of the ship to an opposite extreme position where theextensible girder extends over the opposite side of the ship; supportmeans for mounting said extensible girder on said main girder andguiding said extensible girder along said main girder positionedadjacent and intermediate end portions of said extensible girder, andadapted to extend across top portions and down side portions of saidmain girder; hoist means movably mounted on said extensible girder formovement substantially transverse to the centerline ofthe ship from oneend portion ofsaid extensible girder; first drive means for moving saidextensible girder along said main girder attached to said extensiblegirder possibly through intermediate supports and engage said maingirder; and second drive means for moving said hoist means along saidextensible girder.

2. A container ship crane as claimed in claim I wherein: said leg meansare in inverted substantially T-shape and each said leg means isattached to an end portion of said main girder.

3. A container ship crane as claimed in claim I wherein: said supportmeans positioned intermediate said end portions of said extensiblegirder is positioned substantially at the center of said extensiblegirder and has said first drive means mounted thereon.

4. A container ship crane as claimed in claim I wherein: said first andsecond drive means is a single drive means for moving said extensiblegirder along said main girder and for moving said hoist means along saidextensible girder in unison, from one extreme position where saidextensible and said hoist means extend over one side of the ship to anopposite extreme position where said extensible girder and said hoistmeans extend over the opposite side of the ship.

5. A container ship crane as claimed in claim 4 comprising in addition:sheaves positioned at each end portion of said extensible girder; andcables, each said cable passing through the sheaves at one end portionof said extensible girder and dead ending on the hoist means and on themain girder at its center portion.

6. A container ship crane as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said firstdrive means is mounted on said support means positioned intermediatesaid end portions of said extensible girder.

1. A container ship crane movable on spaced apart trackways adjacenteach edge of a ship deck and substantially parallel to the centerline ofthe ship comprising: a single main girder extending transverse of theship deck; leg means movably mounted on the trackways of the ship deckfor supporting said main girder vertically above the ship deck; drivemeans for driving said leg means along the trackways; an extensiblesingle girder movably positioned substantially side by side with saidmain girder for movement substantially transverse to the centerline ofthe ship from one extreme position where the extensible girder extendsover one side of the ship to an opposite extreme position where theextensible girder extends over the opposite side of the ship; supportmeans for mounting said extensible girder on said main girder andguiding said extensible girder along said main girder positionedadjacent and intermediate end portions of said extensible girder, andadapted to extend across top portions and down side portions of saidmain girder; hoist means movably mounted on said extensible girder formovement substantially transverse to the centerline of the ship from oneend portion of said extensible girder; first drive means for moving saidextensible girder along said main girder attached to said extensiblegirder possibly through intermediate supports and engage said maingirder; and second drive means for moving said hoist means along saidextensible girder.
 2. A container ship crane as claimed in claim 1wherein: said leg means are in inverted substantially T-shape and eachsaid leg means is attached to an end portion of said main girder.
 3. Acontainer ship crane as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said support meanspositioned intermediate said end portions of said extensible girder ispositioned substantially at the center of said extensible girder and hassaid first drive means mounted thereon.
 4. A container ship crane asclaimed in claim 1 wherein: said first and second drive means is asingle drive means for moving said extensible girder along said maingirder and for moving said hoist means along said extensible girder inunison, from one extreme position where said extensible and said hoistmeans extend over one side of the ship to an opposite extreme positionwhere said extensible girder and said hoist means extend over theopposite side of the ship.
 5. A container ship crane as claimed in claim4 comprising in addition: sheaves positioned at each end portion of saidextensible girder; and cables, each said cable passing through thesheaves at one end portion of said extensible girder and dead ending onthe hoist means and on the main girder at its center portion.
 6. Acontainer ship crane as claimed in claim 1 wherein: said first drivemeans is mounted on said support means positioned intermediate said endportions of said extensible girder.